Japanese Onomatopoeia: 84 Sounds to Express Yourself in Japanese

You may think, why do I need to learn onomatopoeia? Maybe you’re thinking of American onomatopoeia, that seems to be only in comics (“bang” and “kaboom”) and children’s books (“woof woof” and “meow meow”). But Japanese onomatopoeic expressions are so common! You will be doing a serious disservice to your language skills if you don’t at least learn the basics. You’ll be hearing them every day!

Plus, you can level up your Japanese conversation skills by expressing yourself with Japanese onomatopoeia.

Japanese sound effects are used in everyday speech to not only describe sounds, but also feelings. Many people think Japanese is vague, and to an extent, it is — until you get into onomatopoeia. With thousands of onomatopoeia, Japanese feelings and true meaning are uniquely expressed through sound effects.

Feeling いそいそ (isoiso: “enthusiastic”) now? Let’s get learning!

What is Onomatopoeia?

Onomatopoeia are any words, expressions or phrases that aim to imitate or recreate a sound or feeling. As I mentioned above, we use these words in English to express things like noises and animal sounds. We often see them in comics and children’s book or even make the noises while playing with our kids. Sounds like “moo moo” for a cow, or “vroom vroom” for a car.

Japanese takes this to a whole new level, though. In Japanese, the onomatopoeia have a lot of nuance to express sounds of animals, nature, and inanimate objects, as well as feelings and movement. The five types of Japanese onomatopoeia are:

Giongo: Sounds made by non-living things, like cars or the wind.

Gitaigo: Sounds that describe states of being, like feeling sticky with sweat or muggy weather.

Giseigo: Sounds from living things, like animals and people.

Giyougo: Sounds that express descriptive movement that we would normally think of as verbs in English. Expressions like falling into deep sleep or walking around without purpose.

Gijougo: Describe feelings, like a shiver down your spine when you get an eerie feeling.

To simplify, you could think of only two forms. Giongo and Gitaigo — words that express sounds, versus words that express feelings/conditions.

Getting Started with Japanese Onomatopoeia

The first question you may have is, “How do I write onomatopoeia in Japanese?”

The rules are pretty loose with this one. But generally speaking, words that copy sounds are written in Katakana (so most Giongo), and words that express feeling/conditions are expressed in Hiragana (most Gitaigo, etc.).

Sometimes it depends on the type of sound, too. The look of Katakana are all very hard and square-like, while Hiragana is rounded and soft. So to that extent, sometimes the tone of the word is associated with the type of Kana — Hiragana are used for softer sounds and Katakana for harder ones.

But, like I said, it’s a mixed bag how they are written. The good thing is, this means you don’t have to worry so much about writing it correctly! And if you need help getting started with learning Kana, check out this guide to Hiragana vs Katakana.

The other thing you should know is that Japanese onomatopoeic expressions have three main grammatical forms:

Double form: わくわく (wakuwaku, excited), ぺらぺら (perapera, fluently speaking). This form expresses a continuing state of the sound or feeling, like how you speak fluently the whole time you have a conversation, or you feel excited for quite a while. When it’s doubled and the vowel is lengthened, it means the sound drags on, like グーグー (gu- gu-, snoring).

と form: はっと (hatto, gasp), ぞっと (zotto, shivers down your spine). This form expresses a sound that is short, quick, and cut off. Like how a gasp comes out quickly or the shivers down your spine last only a second.

り form: のそり (nosori, to walk lazily), しょんぼり (shonbori, crestfallen, dejected). り form is used when the sound or action is slow and drawn out. It’s the opposite of と form, like how you walk slowly or feel dejected for a while.

Some words end in ん (or ン in Katakana), which is used to express an echo or length to the sound, like ゴンゴン (gongon, banging).

The last tip I have for you before we get to the Japanese onomatopoeia list? There are a few little cheats to help you understand onomatopoeia you don’t know.

For instance, words that include the two tiny marks called dakuten or the tiny circle called handakuten are considered harsher words in Japanese. In fact, I was told that they’re considered more masculine because they sound harsh and less feminine. So if a word has dakuten or handakuten, you can expect them to be loud and noisy sounds.

Japanese Onomatopoeia for People Sound Effects (Giseigo)

What kind of sound effects do people make? All kinds! Learn creative ways to express your actions, like how to say “cry” in Japanese. (Try ギャアギャア, gyaagyaa, “to wail or cry loudly”, or シクシク, shikushiku, “to whimper or cry softly”).

コホンコホン (kohon kohon): A light cough

ぐうぐう (guu guu): Snoring loudly

クシュ (kushu): Sneezing

ワイワイ (wai wai): Children playing, or a group of people talking noisily

コソコソ (kosokoso): Secret whispering

キャー (kya-): Screaming

ズルズル (zuru zuru): Slurping loudly

ニコニコ (niko niko): To smile (at something funny)

ジロジロ (jiro jiro): To stare intently

ガブガブ (gabu gabu): To guzzle a drink

Japanese Onomatopoeia for Inanimate Sound Effects (Giongo)

Ready to learn the sound effects you see in manga, like how to say “bang” in Japanese? (バンバン, ban ban)

パラパラ (para para): Light, scattered rain, or flipping through the pages of a book.

リンリン (rin rin): The sound of ringing, like a bicycle bell ring.

コンコン (kon kon): Knocking

ゴロゴロ (goro goro): Thunder rumbling, or large objects rolling loudly

ザーザー (za- za-): Heavy rain

ゴボゴボ (gobo gobo): Gushing water

ガタンガトン (gatan gaton): The sound of a train clacking along

ガシャン (gashan): Crash

カタカタ (kata kata): Click-clack, or typing

サワサワ (sawa sawa): Rustling

Japanese Onomatopoeia for States or Conditions (Gitaigo)

How do you describe the feeling of something or a state you’re in, like sweating (カラカラ, kara kara)? What about how to say fluffy in Japanese? (フワフワ, fuwafuwa — it’s also furry, or fleece.)

キラキラ (kirakira): Sparkling

グルグル (guru guru): Dizzy

ぺとぺと (peto peto): Feeling sticky with sweat

びっしょり (bisshori): To be soaked

ピカピカ (pika pika): To shine

ムシムシ (mushi mushi): Humid, uncomfortable hot/sticky weather

ピリピリ (piri piri): Spicy, hot sensation

べとべと (beto beto): Sticky

ダラダラ (dara dara): Lazily

ほかほか (hoka hoka): Steamy, warm food

Japanese Onomatopoeia for Emotions and Feelings (Gijougo)

Are you feeling ドキドキ (dokidoki, heart racing with excitement or nervousness)? Or ウキウキ (ukiuki, “cheerful”)? Express your inner feelings with more color!

むかむか (muka muka): Nauseous

いらいら (ira ira): To be irritated

びっくり (bikkuri): Shocked, surprised

のろのろ (noro noro): To feel lazy

ぼろぼろ (boro boro): To feel mentally drained

ぞっと (zotto): To have a chill go down your spine, usually from a gross or scared feeling

むすっ (musu-t): Pouting

るんるん (run run): Humming happily

やきもき (yakimoki): So worried that you can’t calm down

むくむく (mukumuku): Thinking up an idea, inspiration hits

Japanese Onomatopoeia for Movement (Giyougo)

What does running sound like in Japanese? (だだだだだ, dadadadada）Let’s describe movements!

グルグル (guru guru): To spin around

ゆっくり (yukkuri): To do something slowly

コロコロ (koro koro): Something rolls

ウロウロ (uro uro): Wandering around

スタスタ (suta suta): Brisk walk

こてっ (kote-t): Nodding off to sleep

カバっ (kaba-t): Waking up with a start

ガチガチ (gachi gachi): Teeth chattering

しばしば (shiba shiba): Blinking rapidly

カバカバ (kaba kaba): Quickly chowing down on your food

Express Yourself at a Whole New Level — and Have More Fun, too!

While learning Japanese onomatopoeia may feel a bit like learning a whole separate language, it can add a lot of color to your speech!